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According to pollster Nik Nanos, Canadians had a hard time getting excited about the War of 1812.

“What I thought was quite surprising was that things that affected the day-to-day lives of Canadians, like the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the vote for women, had a significant amount of support in terms of something to celebrate,” Mr. Nanos said.

How is it at all suprising that the most meaningful historical events are those that still tangibly affect our lives in a positive way? Sometimes I wonder about pollsters.

I think he knew that the amazing platform provided by the Internet could only bring about real changes if people were willing to put them into action. That documents and data and records posted online would need to translate into action or impact offline.

Anyone who seeks social or political change and sees the Internet as a tool for such must keep reminding themselves of this. For Aaron’s sake, if nothing else.

I’d say, go to university, but go for the right reasons. Education isn’t a gun held to your head: it’s a weapon in your hands. Go not because you’re afraid of not getting a job – that’s not something you can count on anyway – but go because you love to learn, because you’re excited by ideas, because you believe that education is important for its own sake, and when you get there, pay attention, read everything you can get your hands on, cram yourself with words and figures and ideas, because that’s the one thing they can never take away from you.

This was literally exactly what I needed to read as I begin prepare myself for a meeting with Concordia’s new president next week.